The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

Published March 4th 2014 by Bloomsbury Children’s

Series Reviews Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire

Young-Adult, High Fantasy, Novellas, Adventure, Magic, Romance

Purchased Hardcover

My Rating 4 Stars

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena’s scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives…

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers listeners a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
The Assassin and the Healer
The Assassin and the Desert
The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire

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*If you haven’t read this series, or you haven’t reached a certain book, then this review may be a little spoiler. I’ll try not to, but just in case – WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD *

REVIEW After reading this, I feel like this is where I should have started this series. Granted, I didn’t even read ToG until this past January. These little shorts are filled with more understanding of Celaena’s character. She shows so much more than her badaxx-ness in these, and that was so needed. The friendships, heartaches, and just the overall trials the she went through really made me see her in a different light. I’m surprised that the girl is still kicking butt after all that she’s been through.

I hate Arobynn. He’s like a Benedict Arnold, betrayal is what he knows best. Not that anyone thought him to be a saint, but reading these stories just solidifies my first impression of him. He is a manipulator. Pretending to care, only to mislead Celaena.  The Assassin and the Underworld is probably the most gripping novella in this book, in my opinion.

We get to see lots of Sam interaction here. Oh, how my heart broke! I knew how it would end, it still made me sad and angry. I was threatened by Sam in some way, but he was just the greatest comrade. See, I can be team Sam for different reasons. I still hate how it all ended. That just goes to show how hooked I am on this series. If I can survive character death and keep on reading, then I can survive anything.

I can’t get over the world building in this series. It’s so rich in detail that I can just close my eyes and be there, front and center. My favorite is Rifthold. The characterization and world building makes this assassin story stand out from any other that I’ve read. Seriously, it has a badaxx heroine to trail blaze her way through and give you the good and bad. I can’t recommend this series enough.

Each story connects in some way to the previous one, so there’s really no confusion about what and where things are taking place. I won’t lie, the combination of all these novellas will give you FEEL overload. You will be happy, sad, angry, and swoon a few times before it’s all over. For me, this book stands as better than one of the main novels – *cough* Heir of Fire. That book was not the best for me, because I saw relationships shifting and things are about to get downright treacherous for our girl. I just hope that Maas doesn’t destroy me in the process. That is all I ask of you Sarah!! I am anxious to read Queen of Shadows, but I know that it’ll be a few weeks before I even attempt to get it. I highly, without a doubt, recommend this series! You will not read a better female assassin series than this.